Chael Sonnen explains why Jon Jones would return if Alex Pereira beats Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250

Jon Jones made waves in the MMA community in July of last year, as he notably reentered the UFC's drug testing pool.

It happened amid widespread speculation that the legendary American fighter could return to professional MMA competition, that too at the UFC White House (UFC Freedom 250) event. 

A number of Jones's fans had their hopes dashed when the UFC Freedom 250 fight card was eventually announced and Jones was conspicuously missing from it.

Nevertheless, MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen has now outlined that Jones could officially unretire and return to the octagon if Alex Pereira wins his next fight. 

Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira -- a long-awaited MMA superfight

Jon Jones's most recent MMA bout witnessed him defeat fellow great Stipe Miocic via TKO to defend the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 309 in November 2024. Back then, reigning UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was the interim heavyweight champion. 

After beating Miocic, Jones asserted that he wasn't interested in fighting Aspinall in a title unifier and would rather defend his belt in a heavyweight superfight against then-UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. 

Unfortunately, that fight didn't materialize, and June 2025 saw Jones retire from MMA and Aspinall get promoted as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. Aspinall competed once since, fighting Ciryl Gane in October 2025 and suffering eye-poke-induced injuries in an NC (No Contest) that have still kept him on the sidelines. 

Chael Sonnen views Alex Pereira as the key to Jon Jones's UFC comeback

Brazil's Alex Pereira previously held the middleweight and light heavyweight championships in Glory Kickboxing as well as the UFC. Currently, "Poatan" is booked to face ex-interim UFC heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane, whom Jon Jones submitted in their heavyweight title fight back in 2023. 

Pereira will fight Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight championship in the co-headlining match of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on June 14. Their showdown's victor would be expected to face Aspinall when the latter is medically cleared to compete again. 

Taking to his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen -- who himself suffered a TKO defeat against Jones in a light heavyweight title clash several years ago -- has now addressed the potential comeback of "Bones." 

Sonnen alluded to UFC CEO and president Dana White's recent remarks, wherein White indicated that Pereira could become the consensus MMA G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) if he wins and becomes the first-ever three-division UFC champion. 

On that note, Sonnen suggested that Jones is driven more by his love for competition than solely by money. Emphasizing that the UFC icon would go to great lengths to protect the identity assigned to him by many fight fans, that of the MMA G.O.A.T., Sonnen stated: 

"The money is more of a narrative. And once we start to understand this thing, then you can start to understand -- Jon Jones, who is the greatest fighter of all time, if they take that status from him and they hand it to Pereira. And it's very different if they hand it to a young guy. It's very different if you hand that to the next generation." 

Sonnen opined that if someone like ex-UFC featherweight champion and reigning UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is touted as the G.O.A.T., Jones wouldn't mind, but he'd surely disapprove of Pereira being handed that title. "The American Gangster" said: 

"When you put it on a guy (Pereira), who's the same age, from the same era, with much less experience, who is eligible to compete with Jon and is willing to compete with Jon; now you have a problem with Jon."

Sonnen continued, "Mark my words. If Pereira comes out on top, and Dana goes to the press conference and declares Pereira the G.O.A.T., you are going to take Jon's identity away. And Jon, same as all of you, same as all of us, will go to great lengths to protect his identity." 

Moreover, Sonnen signaled that if Pereira beats Gane, he'll be on a collision course with Aspinall. Also, if Jones returns, he'd want to fight for the undisputed heavyweight title, which belongs to Aspinall right now. Regardless, Sonnen believes Jones fighting Pereira is more likely -- be it for an interim title, or for the undisputed title if the UFC strips Aspinall due to inactivity. 

The former UFC star said, "I'm just here to tell you, if Jon returns, it's going to be Jon and Pereira... If Alex Pereira beats Ciryl Gane, if Alex Pereira gets declared the G.O.A.T., mark my words -- Jon Jones will return." 

 

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Jon Jones's potential return and possible fight against Alex Pereira below (*comments at the 4:00-minute mark of the video):